The governance of CALMEADOW is carried out through its board of directors by the executive director.

Damian von Stauffenberg, Chairman of the Board; Founder and Principal, MicroRate.
Mr. von Stauffenberg founded MicroRate, the first rating agency for microfinance institutions. MicroRate was designed to provide transparency to the microfinance industry and thereby attract commercial funding sources to microfinance. Mr. von Stauffenberg has had a long and successful career with the World Bank and its private sector affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Elisabeth Rhyne, Senior VP, Policy and Research & Development, ACCIÃï¿½N International
Ms. Rhyne directs ACCION's research efforts to develop new financial products for the poor and leads ACCIONâï¿½ï¿½s microfinance industry development activities. She oversees ACCIONâï¿½ï¿½s publications and educational activities. Ms. Rhyne previously worked as the director of the Office of Microenterprise Development with USAID and as an independent consultant in Mozambique.

Paul DiLeo, Founder and Managing Partner, Grassroots Capital Management
Paul has over two decades of experience in development finance and 10 years’ experience in the microfinance sector, he has cultivated a wealth of knowledge in the industry and is respected as a thought leader in the microfinance investment community. Paul launched and managed the Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund which was the first private, for-profit microfinance fund established to demonstrate the viability of microfinance investment. Prior to starting Gray Ghost, he was instrumental in setting up a U.S. government-backed investment fund in Russia and during his tenure at Shorebank Corporation made equity investments in leading microfinance institutions in India and Bangladesh. He also worked extensively in advising and evaluating microfinance institutions and small business banks around the world. Paul started his career in international finance with the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, has a Master’s degree from Boston University, and completed studies in business accounting and finance at New York University.
Juan Carlos Pereira, Manager of ELF and STLF, Partner of Omtrix
With Omtrix since 2004, Mr. Pereira was the operational manager of ProFund and is now partner of Omtrix, Inc, and manager of the Emergency Liquidity Facility (ELF), an innovative fund for short-term loans to microfinance institutions in liquidity distress due to natural events or local crises, as well as for the Risk Management Facility (RMF), a technical assistance facility to MFIs in managing financial risks. He has also been a board member of Corporations, Banks, and MFIs in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.
Management
Alex Silva, Executive DirectorMr. Silva is Executive Director of Calmeadow and represents Calmeadow on AfriCapâï¿½ï¿½s Board. He also manages the Antares Fund, a for-profit equity participation fund aiming to develop a secondary market for shares of microfinance institutions (MFIs), financial institutions specializing in servicing small and micro entrepreneurs. He was executive director of ProFund Internacional, where he was responsible for the management of a regional investment fund specializing in equity investments in MFIs in Latin America and the Caribbean. He has been a board member of numerous MFIs in countries such as Nicaragua, Haiti, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Georgina Vasquez
As an investment officer with Omtrix, Ms. VÃ¡zquez is responsible for financial, technical and operational follow-ups for the Risk Management Facility as well as providing support for Calmeadowâï¿½ï¿½s operations.